Good morning,
The earthquake in Sicily, Kavanaugh’s confirmation, Interpol’s chief detainment and Italy’s budget are amongst the latest news reported around the globe. In Malta’ the dispute between the Government and the Union of Teachers on the education’s reform retains centre stage.
Your morning briefing brings you the salient news from Malta and around the World as reported by the main news agencies and outlets.
Start your day informed.
The LatestÂ
A 4.7 magnitude earthquake was felt in Sicily. Different seismic recording stations had different measures varying from 4.5 to 5. The earthquake was registered at 00:34:21 UTC (02:34) local time. Corporate Dispatch
Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, whose Supreme Court hearings ripped apart the Senate and roiled the nation, headed for final confirmation to the court after two key undecided senators announced on Friday that they would back him, despite allegations of sexual assault and deep-seated Democratic opposition. New York TimesÂ
“The budget targets seem to point to a significant deviation from the path recommended by the Council.This is a source of serious concern”: Commissioner Moscovici and Dombrovskis said this in a letter to Italy, where they asked the government to “ensure that the stability law is in line with EU rules “. TgCom
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Tokyo on Saturday for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other officials ahead of his fourth visit to North Korea for denuclearization talks with its leader Kim Jong Un. Reuters
A woman with a 7-year-old son dies, the second is missing. Over seventy emergency interventions for the storm that has hit the region as the dramatic situation continues to evolve in Calabria and in the north of Sicily in view of severe weather conditions. These led to the closure of schools and families be evacuated from their homes. Rai News
The headquarters of the NGO Sos Mediterranee in Marseilles, in the south of France, has been attacked by some right-wing militants. The NGO reported on Twitter stating that the police intervened and made arrests. “The staff of the NGO is safe and sound, but in shock” –Â Rai News
The family of Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi demanded compensation for the period he spent in prison after new claims emerged that Iran may have been behind the 1988 downing of the US airplane in Lockerbie. Corporate Dispatch
Romanians will vote at the weekend on whether to enshrine in their constitution that marriage must only be between a man and a woman in a referendum that has seen campaigners direct slurs at LGBT people and which activists said is open to fraud. Reuters
The ReviewÂ
The Malta Independent reports on a press conference by Minister of Education Evarist Bartolo who said the government was making a ‘final appeal’ to teachers not to strike on Monday by taking the ‘unprecedented’ step to withdraw proposed amendments in the Education Act that the Union of Teachers found unacceptable.
L-Orizzont says that the Malta Union of Teachers vowed to go ahead with strikes, despite the goodwill shown by the government to withdraw the contentious articles from the Education Act.
In-Nazzjon says that the government admitted defeat and formally asked the Speaker of the House to revoke the proposed legislation. The Ministry of Education, continues the newspaper, insists that the Act did not threaten teachers’ warrants.
The Times reports that the government will offer a ‘logistical solution’ to parents ahead of the looming teacher’s strike on Monday.
In another story, In-Nazzjon, quotes PN Leader Adrian Delia who said that the ruling by the Constitutional Court to stop Deputy Police Commissioner from investigating the assassination case of Daphne Caruana Galizia is a sign that the government is paralysing the institutions.
The Malta Independent also reports on the court decision, saying that Deputy Commissioner Silvio Valletta’s marriage to government minister Justyne Caruana presents a conflict of interest and breaches her family’s fundamental rights.
The Times speaks to YMCA CEO Anthony Camilleri who says that official data showing only 27 cases of homelessness in Malta is, in fact, a far cry from reality, and warns that the country is facing ‘institutionalised homelessness’.
L-Orizzont covers the address made by Josef Bugeja, General Secretary of the General Workers Union, during and Extraordinary Congress of the union. ‘We will never speak to other countries against the government of Malta’ said Bugeja.
